365 Wow Places:
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Wow Place #277: Along the River to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
I’ve made a lot of risky decisions in my life. Most of them have worked out because, hey, I’m still here, right? In retrospect, however, I can’t help wondering if I would make the same choices today if I had them to do over again.
Take, for example, my river journey to Phnom Penh.
After a glorious couple of days exploring the amazing ruins of Angkor Wat, my buddy Cenzo and I are faced with a tricky decision: how do we get to our next destination, Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh? Our choices are: 1) fly 2) drive 3) take a boat. The first option is out because we’re on a pretty tight budget and flying is expensive compared to the other two choices. That leaves either going overland or hitting the waterways. Driving would be the faster route by far, except for two issues, namely a) the roads are full of torturous potholes, promising a bumpy, uncomfortable ride, and b) the danger of bandits. Now, I don’t know what it’s like driving in Cambodia these days, but back in 2000, it wasn’t uncommon for vehicles to be pulled over at gun point, the passengers then shaken down for all their valuables. Hmm—get to where we’re going faster or potentially get robbed?
Obviously, we’re taking the boat!
I mean, how bad could it be, really? Three hours crossing Tonle Sap Lake, followed by another lazy hour or two on a narrow river, enjoying the lush, tropical scenery. Sounds like a picnic!
Yeah, that’s what they said in Apocalypse Now.
Apparently, boating in Cambodia is only slightly safer than driving. Banditos can rob a ship nearly as easily as they can a vehicle. And oh yes, some of the rivers are booby trapped with mines. Grrrrreatttt.
Imagine what a human being might look like if their face was a lighthouse. That’s me as we crowd onto our little tour boat and set off across the lake. My eyes are like a giant lamp sending out beams of concern. I’m scanning the forest this way and that way, left to right, right to left—looking for even the slightest movement in the woods. Heck, I’ve read Heart of Darkness (by Joseph Conrad). I know the dangers that can come rushing out of a quiet forest when you least expect them.
The funny thing is, I’m not a naturally anxious person. “Que sera sera” is my motto…whatever happens, I’ll figure out a contingency. But this river cruise has gotten me completely freaked out. I came to Southeast Asia for an exotic adventure; I didn’t come here to die!
Mines and bandits, as it turns out, aren’t the only perils. As its’ been a dry year in Cambodia, the lake level is fairly low, which means: mud. Lots and lots of mud! Mud that stops tour boats in their tracks and says, “Not so fast, Sonny!” An hour into our trip, our ship captain announces that the propellers are no longer working and his crew is going to need to jump into the mud and push us across the lake!
To add to my anxiety, before leaving we had phoned ahead to the proprietor of our next hotel (in Phnom Penh) and asked him to meet us at the boat dock in 5 hours. Well, thanks to the mud, we are definitely going to be late. I mean seriously late. As in, after sundown, stranded, alone and hungry in an unknown Asian city. IF we don’t get robbed or blown up on the way there!
Remind me again – why didn’t we fly????
Again, I’m here, writing this post today, so you know that I survived, somehow. As it turns out, everything worked out in the end. Eventually we got through the muddy bit of the lake, turned on our motor again and sped on towards our destination. No one robbed us. No mines, sea monsters or cannibals hindered our progress. And lo and behold, when we finally arrived at the dock in Phnom Penh – 11 hours later!!! – there was our proprietor, patiently waiting for us.
“I came every two hours to see if you were here yet. Glad you made it!”
The boat ride to Phnom Penh: a “wow” place, a “whoa” place, and ultimately a “whew” place.
(I learned three lessons from my Cambodian journey into the heart of darkness: 1) Nothing is guaranteed in life – our plane could just have easily have crashed. Living is risking. 2) Don’t second guess yourself. Once you make a decision, live with your choice and enjoy the ride. 3) The universe is For us, not Against us. I’m not saying that bad things don’t happen. We all know they do. But if we learn from the experience, whatever the result, the experience has value. Ultimately, it’s all a good thing. As the American physicist, Richard Feynman, once said, “Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”)